From lab to table: Inside a cultivated meat factory
Food technology companies are working to make their products more affordable
Growing consumer demand has led some of the world's largest food production companies, such as Tyson, JBS and Hormel Foods, to invest in startups that are exploring plant-based products and alternatives to farm-raised meat.
In the documentary Food, Inc. 2, Michael Pollan — author of The Omnivore's Dilemma — visits Upside Foods, a food technology company that's using animal cells to grow meat in a lab. It says it offers a sustainable alternative to raising and slaughtering animals.
In this clip from the documentary, Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of Upside Foods, tells Pollan that the company can produce a range of meats, including chicken, beef and pork.
According to its website, Upside Foods's facility has a variety of "cultivators" designed to grow meat from an animal cell sample. The cells are fed a blend of required nutrients that includes water, sugars, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and salt.
Valeti explains that the cells double every 24 hours. "A cultivator like this, every five days you can have a batch of meat," he says, gesturing to one vessel.
The challenge is to make this meat affordable, both for production and for the consumer, which Valeti predicts could happen in five to 10 years.
But Pollan is less optimistic. "The technology to produce whole cut chicken at scale is not as close as the industry would have us believe," he says in the documentary.
How to watch Food, Inc. 2
Food, Inc. 2 is the followup documentary to the Oscar-nominated film Food, Inc.
Watch it now on CBC Gem and the CBC Docs YouTube channel.
